Panel-box



H. H. BROWN.

PANEL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. 1919.

Patented Oct. 19,1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HECTOR H. BROWN, 01' BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO RIGGS, DISTLER &STRING-EB, INCORPOBATED, A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND.

PANEL-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent. 7

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

Application filed M131, 1919. Serial N0. 300,948.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Hnoron H. BROWN a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing in the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Panel-Boxes,of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved type of switch box, wall box orcabinet. Such boxes are ordinarily supplied to suit the requirements ofeach particular job and are then fitted with a commercial form of woodfront furnished separately to conform as far as possible to the style ofthe surroundings. These wood fronts generally have a marginal area orzone which can be drilled for fastening to the box arranged as may suitthe convenience of the maker. Difiiculty is often experienced inattaching this to the box as registering holes must be drilled orpunched in the box and front. This work is done at the place ofinstallation with ordinary hand tools and is expensive andunsatisfactory on account of injury to the box, etc. Also, the boxes'asnow furnished often have no convenient points of attachment, i. 6.,portions which can be drilled to receive the screws or bolts asnecessarily spaced on account of the structure of the wood front.

Boxes of this type are intended to receive panels of insulating materialon which the fuses, binding posts and switches are mounted. These panelsof insulating material, as hard rubber, slate or the like, are brittleand difficult to work. They are therefore provided with screw-h0les,screws or other fastening means at the factory. It is generallynecessary to drill the boxes to conform to the plates or panels. As itbecomes necessary to do this where the equipinent is being installed,there is much loss of time and disfigurement of the structure.

To overcome this and other difiiculties is an object of the presentinvention. To this end the cabinet or box is provided with fasteningmeans arranged to conform to any spacing or combination of fasteningmeans which may be supplied with the panel.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated a panel box or cabinetembodying the features of my invention. In the drawing Figure 1 is anelevation of the empty box with the front removed.

Referring to the drawing by numerals,

the box 1 is of any suitable sheet material open on one of the largesides and having the edges of the walls flanged around the opening, theflanges being indicated by reference character 2. These flanges may bemitered at the corners at 3 or otherwise suitably arranged and fitted.The flanges 2 which'preferably surround the front opening 4 on all sidesare slotted at 5, the slots being extended in the direction of thelength of the flanges. These slots 5 are intended to receive screws orother fastening means 6 on the wood fronts which are suppliedcommercially ready to apply. In a great many instances the fronts are soarranged that they may be bored forthescrews anywhere on a particularmargin. This margin is sufiicient to make it convenient to conform tothe slots 5, i. 6., to pass the fastening screws through these slotswhen otherwise it would be necessary to drill or punch the box.

The function of the box in the present instance is to hold the panel 7carrying the equipment 8 which may be switches, terminals, fuses or thelike. These panels come in various sizes and it'is often desirable tochange with a change of equipment. They are also drilled at pointschosen by the manufacturer to provide fastening means which areordinarily seated by drilling or punching the back of the box. This asalready pointed out is inconvenient as it generally has to be done whenthe work is installed and without suitable equipment.

In the present instance the fastening of the panel is made easy by theprovision of the support 10 whichis a subject of the invention. Thisconsists of parallel Z-bars or other conveniently arranged members 11.These as shown have one flange secured to the back of the box and theother flange slotted longitudinally at 12, the slots in the two membersbeing parallel. To these parallel bars 11 are secured transverse platesor slotted bars 14:. The slots 15 therein are elongated and extend inthe direction of the length of the plates and at right angles to theslots in the members 11. These transverse plates or bars 14 arepreferably in the form of Z-bars as indicated in Fig. 2, the bottomportion 16 of the Z being cut off at the ends so'that it fits betweenthe Z-bars 11, the top portion 17 containing the slots 15 resting on thebars 11 and being apertured at 18 to receive screws or bolts 19 holdingthe bars 14: which screws pass through and are adjustable in the slots12 of the Z-bars 11. Thus we have supports 14 for the panel withelongated slots 15 freely adjustable transversely to the direction ofsaid slots 15 and for the entire extent of the box, so that whatever thearrangement of the fastening means or screws in the panel, they arereceived in the slots 15 and accommodated by some adjustment of thesupport.

The operation or rather the use of the invention will .be easilyunderstood from the description which in a general way is in- ..tendedto disclose a cabinetor panel box "adapted to receive any suitablecommercial wooden or steel front of suitable size and any panel withoutthe necessity for drilling or punching the box in order to install suchportion of the equipment. 7

I have thus described specifically a single embodiment of my inventionin order that its nature and operation may be understood to thoseskilledin the art; however, the

specific terms herein are used descriptively rather than in theirlimiting sense, thescope of the invention being definedin the claims.

What I claim and desire ters Patent is:

l. A panel box having a support for the panel consisting ofsubstantially parallel flanged bars, each bar having one flange securedto the box and the other flange slotted in the direction of the lengthof the bar; slotted transverse members secured at their ends in saidaforementioned slots, the slots in said members being transverse to thefirstmentioned slots, andadapted to receive the fastening means forthepanel.

2. A panel cabinet having parallel Z-bars each Z bar having one flangesecured to the box, the other flange being .provided with fasteningmeans in elongated arrangement and transverse members adjustably securedto said Z-bars by said means, said transverse members having fasteningmeans for the panel in arrangement elongated in the direction of theirlength.

8. A panel cabinet having parallelZ-bars each Z bar having one flangesecuredto the box, the other flange being provided with fastening meansin elongated arrangement and transverse Z-bars adjustably secured tosaid Z-bars by said means, said transverse Z-bars having fastening meansfor the panel in arrangement elongated in the, direction of theirlength. v

' Signed by me at Baltimore, Maryland, this 29 day of May, 1919.

rmc'ron H. BROWN.

to secure by Let- Witnesses ZELLA KUHN, EMMA WEHMEYER.

